"The Tiger Way" just keeps unfolding here in Lancaster ISD. Last week, I finally got a chance to return to the BI60 STEM Camp and this time outside the classroom. In a nearby field, not to far from Lancaster High School, students performed a glide test with their drone planes that they hand built and decorated.
I arrived just in time to see the instructors, Jamie Glover and William Shaler, give a quick run through of how to get things started. Shortly after, they got a visit from the Superintendent of Lancaster ISD, Dr. McFarland, and along with the instructors he too asked a couple of questions to the students. "If you think through things, you'll get them eventually", said Shaler, and that's exactly what they did. It was nice to see that the students had been studying and paying attention in the classroom.
Unfortunately, after a few attempts of testing the planes, they just weren't taking off the way they were supposed to. The biggest problem was the interference in the air. Even though the planes didn't do what we had hoped for, everyone still enjoyed themselves.
However, after going back to the drawing board, the BI60 STEM Camp didn't just stop there. Bright and early, the group reported back to their previous spot that they had tested their planes the day before. Ready to give it another try, the group got straight to work. With the heat on their backs and the sweat dripping from their foreheads, the students were setting up for another attempt at the glide test while the instructors counted down. With a little push from the wind, the first drone plane took off with ease into the air, and every attempt after that was a success.
In my interview with the instructors, I asked them both was it more exciting to see the drone planes working or the expression on the children's faces when they saw the planes working? Both Shaler and Glover said that it was a combination of them both. I also asked other questions like what was the purpose behind the drone planes and Shaler stated that "..the planes are designed to teach the kids the basic fundamentals of engineering and design and even teaches skills you wouldn't expect like patients...and to send to Africa to prevent poaching..". Another question I asked was what would they want the students to take from the experience at the STEM Camp and Glover answered with "..technology is ever changing. It's always growing. And to stay on top of the technology that's being produced...and that technology will actually benefit them in the long run". In the words of Shaler, "the world isn't a test, its a learning experience" and I hope that's something the kids remember as they finish their second session of the BI60 STEM Camp and keep with them for the years to follow.
Article and photos by: Stephanie Holmes, Lancaster ISD Communications Summer Intern
I arrived just in time to see the instructors, Jamie Glover and William Shaler, give a quick run through of how to get things started. Shortly after, they got a visit from the Superintendent of Lancaster ISD, Dr. McFarland, and along with the instructors he too asked a couple of questions to the students. "If you think through things, you'll get them eventually", said Shaler, and that's exactly what they did. It was nice to see that the students had been studying and paying attention in the classroom.
Unfortunately, after a few attempts of testing the planes, they just weren't taking off the way they were supposed to. The biggest problem was the interference in the air. Even though the planes didn't do what we had hoped for, everyone still enjoyed themselves.
However, after going back to the drawing board, the BI60 STEM Camp didn't just stop there. Bright and early, the group reported back to their previous spot that they had tested their planes the day before. Ready to give it another try, the group got straight to work. With the heat on their backs and the sweat dripping from their foreheads, the students were setting up for another attempt at the glide test while the instructors counted down. With a little push from the wind, the first drone plane took off with ease into the air, and every attempt after that was a success.
In my interview with the instructors, I asked them both was it more exciting to see the drone planes working or the expression on the children's faces when they saw the planes working? Both Shaler and Glover said that it was a combination of them both. I also asked other questions like what was the purpose behind the drone planes and Shaler stated that "..the planes are designed to teach the kids the basic fundamentals of engineering and design and even teaches skills you wouldn't expect like patients...and to send to Africa to prevent poaching..". Another question I asked was what would they want the students to take from the experience at the STEM Camp and Glover answered with "..technology is ever changing. It's always growing. And to stay on top of the technology that's being produced...and that technology will actually benefit them in the long run". In the words of Shaler, "the world isn't a test, its a learning experience" and I hope that's something the kids remember as they finish their second session of the BI60 STEM Camp and keep with them for the years to follow.
Article and photos by: Stephanie Holmes, Lancaster ISD Communications Summer Intern